MOSCOW, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia's cargo spacecraft Progress MS-31 has been deorbited after completing an eight-month mission at the International Space Station (ISS), with its remaining fragments falling into a non-navigational area of the Pacific Ocean, Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos said Monday.
The spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 16:24 Moscow time (1324 GMT) on Monday. At 19:42 it fired its braking engine, left orbit and subsequently entered the Earth's atmosphere.
"Today the Progress MS-31 cargo spacecraft, which had been operating as part of the Russian segment of the ISS since July 2025, was deorbited, entered dense layers of the atmosphere and disintegrated," Roscosmos said in a statement.
The spacecraft docked with the Poisk module of the ISS Russian segment on July 6, 2025. During the mission, it delivered propellant for refueling the station, nitrogen to replenish the onboard atmosphere, drinking water, food, clothing, hygiene and medical supplies, as well as more than 500 kilograms of equipment and consumables for station upgrades and scientific experiments.
The next cargo ship, Progress MS-33, will soon occupy the Poisk module's docking port. It is planned to be launched into orbit aboard a Soyuz‑2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. ■
